Dream a Website, Build a Reality

Dream a Website, Build a Reality

When you started building your business, how did you think about your business website? Did you envision this glorious website that will bring potential customers on board and keep your current customers excited to work with you? Or did you envision a simpler website that a person could view at a quick glance? Have you even began putting website ideas into action?

Whether you thought about it or not, creating a website can be complex. So before you dive head first, consider these 5 tips that will make your website dreams a reality.

1.) Planning is Key. You should understand the goals that your website is trying to accomplish for your business. Having a website for the sake of having one may not be the best approach, as the purpose of a website is to help your business grow. When planning for your website, you should ask yourself these questions:

“Is my website going to be used to drive revenue, lead conversions, building brand awareness, etc.?”. Decide how you are using the website to build your business.

“What type of technology should be used to accomplish my website goals?”. When you know how you will use your website, you have to consider what types of technology and software need to be in place to make sure those goals are met. Not all technology works the same as others, so figure out what works best for you and your business.

“Do I need to follow any type of compliance?”. If you are in specific fields like medical or legal, following special compliances is a must for protecting your customer information. Knowing how to protect that data can relate back to searching for the right technology.

2.) Learn How Google Reads and Ranks Websites. Google is a key factor to consider when building any website because it is one of the top search engines in the world. If you can learn how Google indexes websites and how to encourage your website to appear higher on a Google search page, you can then put your business in the forefront of the competition. How can you do that? Starting with looking into these options:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Build your website from the ground up using the right keywords, meta descriptions, and other SEO tools to help boost your appearance on Google.

Google my Business. Claim your business on Google, Bing, and other search engines.

Google Analytics. Monitor your website traffic through Google Analytics. Using this tool can allow you to see what is working for your website and what you could improve.

3.) WordPress Makes Website Creation Easy. WordPress is a top Content Management System (CMS) that 23% of the websites on the Internet use. It allows you the freedom to control your website, making changes easily and effectively. You could even compare editing pages on a WordPress website to typing content on a Microsoft Word document. It’s that easy. WordPress also makes your website more secure, as it is regularly updated by its parent company, Automattic. Additionally, WordPress has a strong and vast community of support where you can ask all of your WordPress-related questions.

4.) Don’t Set It and Forget It. Websites are living entities that need to have routine care. If your website doesn’t get its regular software updates, it can start falling apart and not work like it once did. Not keeping your website properly maintained and updated is similar to not maintaining your car. Without regular oil changes, tune ups, and mechanic checks, your car is bound to break down. A broken car equals more money spent. The same concept goes for a website that is being ill-maintained; more money will need to be spent to fix or rebuild it. You should also update your content so that it is relevant to the current times, including any changes in your organization. If your website is keeping up with the latest trends, potential customers will notice.

5.) Find a Great Host with Managed Services. You should research options for web hosting and the benefits that they offer you and your website. Having a web host who does the maintenance for you can take the worry out of your day-to-day activities. When you host with AtNetPlus, we routinely update all of our WordPress websites while also keeping an eye on any security issues. If anything occurs, we are quick to correct it to keep you connected, secured, and working.

Thinking about your dream website is one thing. Actually creating and utilizing your website for its intended use is another. It’s time to put your website ideas into action. Contact the AtNetPlus Web Team so we can start building your dream today.